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I am home. I sit on my dad’s balcony with a glass of wine in my hand. This is where I live now. My hair’s bleached almost pure white to get rid of the excess green. I have a job in telemarketing that I hate. My friends have been scattered around the country, making it harder to see them spontaneously, but like my family, they’re a lot closer now than they have been for the past few years. My plans to go back to school have been compromised by new laws, so I’m back to square one. Here I am, just trying to make a life for myself in a country that is home, yet seems so foreign to me after a long time on the road. I’m standing still, but constantly moving.

The time has come for another adventure, after almost 6 months of being a poor couch potato. Is it weird to have mixed feelings about it? I have serious Traveller’s Guilt. I don’t want to leave my friends behind, now that I’ve finally gotten them back from their exchange programs. I don’t want to miss out on yet another Danish summer and the big events happening in my loved ones lives. I don’t want to spend all my money. But I am going, and it’s exciting to me in a whole new way. For one, I am moving to a country I have never even been to. I don’t know when I will see my family again. I am going to do some travelling by myself for the first time ever. I am even going to travel for a month with a person I have never met. So while I sit in a pile of clothes on the floor, teary-eyed and nauseous from nerves, I am also certain that this experience will not only be amazing – it will be life changing.

Even though I am heading to what are arguably more stunning surroundings, I am really going to miss my home, the town of Horsens. This is where I grew up, and I still think of it as the small prison town it once was, despite it now being the 8th largest city in Denmark and one of the cultural capitals. I wanted a post just for myself, so I have something to look at when I am missing home, so here are some pictures of my home, a place I am truly going to miss.

Coat of arms

The European Medieval Festival 2014

Pictures from Lunden (“The Grove“):Friluftsscenen (“Open Air Stage”)

Menneskemuren (“The Human Wall”) by Horsens Art Museum

Nordre Cemetery

Klosterkirken (“Abbey Church”)

Horsens State Prison, now mostly a concert venue

Triton Water Fountain by the train station

Blue Diamond Water Tower

Purhøj

From the top of Purhøj:

I’ll end this post with one of my favorite songs, sung by Pretty Maids,our local pride.

Life as an Inbetweener – a term I just made up for when you’ve returned home from a trip, doing nothing until you go travelling again – is rough. You were once that person; the one with the great tan, amazing Instagram pictures of exotic landscapes, and you always seemed to have a big group of new friends around you. People at home envied you, kept asking you when you would be home so you could hang out again. Then you were finally back in your own bed, cooking your own food, speaking your own language. Everything that you had missed while away was right there for you to enjoy. Then your tan faded. People who were so eager to hang out once you got home were suddenly too busy with their lives. You started to miss the fresh street food, being around like-minded people and living out of a backpack. So you decided it was time to plan a new adventure. And this is how it (by default) is gonna go:

You are bored with everything
“Can it stop raining already? Why am I doing laundry on a Saturday night? I hate it here and I need some pad thai.”

People at home stress you outSo your friends all have awesome careers now and they just moved in with their significant other and have no time for you, and you’re living off your savings account and the only thing you’ve accomplished lately is your high score in Candy Crush.

You can’t stand looking at your travelling friends online having a good time
Of course this is just because you’re super jealous.

You decide to do go on a new adventure, but planning is overwhelmingThe world is big, and there are so many cool things to see everywhere. Where do you even begin!?

You finally pick your adventure, book a flight and cannot contain your excitement
This is the most relieved you’ve felt in a long time.

You have a lot of things to get done before you leave and it stresses you out
Plan stuff, do some paperwork, save money, cry.

You share your plans with EVERYONE
You’re not trying to brag – you’re genuinely happy to have a purpose in life again. Some people will be happy for you. Some will roll their eyes and be like “AGAIN? Are you ever going to get back to real life?”

Graduation gogglesThe day of your departure is approaching, and suddenly leaving seems so difficult. You’re going to miss home and your friends so so so much. All the things you’ll miss out on while away, like mom’s birthday and your best friend’s first blind date!

You jump into your adventure and it’s everything you hoped it would beAfter an emotional whirlwind, you’re where you want to be, and you finally feel whole again. Plus, your tan looks amazing.

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I'm Christine, and my dream is to see the world and talk about it nonstop. I've been testing the boundaries of acceptable social behavior since 1991, and my hobbies include making lists, drinking wine and generally being inappropriate.
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